nikkirae’s pneumatica

I’ve been a bit lax. Okay. A LOT lax lately. I’ve been catching up on some housework and spending time with Simon in WoW and in just everyday stuff.

A book or two have been finished. One was just meh. Hoping to have some more going soon.

The kids are being kids and busy with school and hitting their teenage years.

We’ve still got quite a bit to go to have what we want done on the book by November but… we’ll hopefully get it done or in the process soon.

So that’s my wrap-up. More later!

-J

I will. Soon. Just.. the garage sale took a lot out of me.

Actually.. here’s some of it.

We woke up Saturday morning to start Day 2 and we were in the middle of a thunderstorm. A few hours later it was sunny so out everything came.  The kids were a more than helpful since Simon had hurt his back. We got it all done and it was worth it. Though the little bit made that day was spent on McDonalds for the family.  *laughs* Funny, huh? All that work for something we devoured but it was a just reward for all the work and we’ve got places for what’s left to go.

Some is going to my Mom’s for her to go through- and through her my sister. A lot of it is going to the local Clothes Closet, including about seven boxes of books. The kids clothes, a few pairs of brand new shoes and some very nice kids books are being held back. Our Redhead said his teachers are gathering donations for kids in India. I think those things will do just fine for that. *crosses fingers*

It’s raining today but we’re going to battle it. It’s my birthday so we’re going out for dinner. Yummy!

The only problem seems to be this persistent headache I keep getting. Every other day or so I get slammed with what I’d call a migraine. Sometimes it sends me to my bed but I find little to no relief. It throbs and pounds and tugs. My eyes seem weak and nauseau is -right- there everytime I breath in those breaths that have to be short because deeper just makes my head hurt worse. Odd, huh?

Overall, though, things are doing good. Simon and I are still working on our book. We’re heading into subplots and fleshing out the main plot now.

My relationship with the kids is continuing to grow. We’re having weekly WoW playtime and for families that game together this can be a great bonding experience. You should have seen the smiles and heard the laughs when we were making and naming the characters!

Our house is a WRECK but we have plans to move furniture and all that. *grumbles* So much work and it’ll be taking weeks to get it where it needs to be. Small steps.. small steps. But when its done the house will be so much more whole and homey feeling I think.

I’m reading and you can expect a review soon. I know the kids have been behind on their posts. We’ll get there. It’s hard to get that routine going.

Okay.. enough for now.

Only writing a smidge. We sold quite a bit. Simon and I had some time to chitchat throughout the day it was great. Both still in a lot of pain but alive. We’ve pulled more out of the garage so we have plenty for tomorrow.

Can’t wait for the thing to be over but hoping to make a decent profit.

We’re getting the finishing touches ready and then.. at around 4:30 AM I’ll be up and at ‘em to get our Garage Sale going.

Today we picked up tables and things, borrowing from my parents, and got the city permit.  There’s some pain involved, and even a bit more as we hit a deep dip and went FLYING while transporting but we’ll manage through it.

Wish us luck! I’ll post a rundown of how it goes after the first day ends tomorrow evening.

I’m still loving Mrs. Magoo Reads.

In fact I’m entering a contest here that ends tonight.

I feel a bit… old?… when I read it but hey.. I’ve always loved YA books and considering Simon and I are writing one it’s all the more reason to keep tabs on what’s going on. Not to mention that I think that blog is very well put together.

So.. we had a free weekend of Showtime and DVR’d Black Snake Moan.

All Simon knew was that it had Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci in it and there was something about a girl chained up. Settling in with some fast food and snuggling under a comforter we watched.

There was a lot of sexuality in it and that made us go wow as we weren’t expecting it. But it had it’s purpose- which we found out as the movie went on.  The acting was good on all accounts. I’m even going to say I liked Justin Timberlake’s performance. The part fit him well.

I’m not usually one to go for movies that put sexual abuse at its core but the way it was handled in this movie was exceptional. It didn’t have a fairy tale ending or go into some long speil about getting revenge or making someone pay. It dealt with the individuality of overcoming and the strength of faith in humanity and self.

I recommend it for those who can stomach intense sexual scenes. It makes you think and I learned a bit.

Here’s this weeks 100 word assignment from Simon. I’m not late this week. I was the first commenter!

A memory from years ago.

My sister and I staying at my grandparents house in that small town where most of that side of the family still lives. Their out of town. We check the garden, gathering a bit from the effort the entire extended family put in that year.

Games and snacks then.. toward dawn..

Richard Simmon’s Sweating to the Oldies.

My grandma’s VHS that we’re not sure she ever used. We do the entire thing! We’re sore when we’re done but the sun comes up- sparkling on the dew- and then begins the laughing.

I’d forgotten that workout.

A good memory.

Last Weeks was #3- A joke

Words you expect a child to utter. This time? No. Someone far older than a child. Their smile is almost contagious and they ask, “Want to hear a joke?” With an upraised brow you take that leap of faith and cross your fingers. “Sure.”

“Alright. Knock, Knock.”

“Who’s there?”

Easy so far. You sweat a little. Adult humor.. please be adult humor!

“Interrupting cow.”

Are they serious?

“Interrupting cow?”

“Yes.. Interrupting cow.” Their grin grows. “Just say it.”

“Okay. Interrupting c-”

MOOOOOOOOOO!

And then you laugh. You laugh and you love it. It slips past age to simplicity and innocence.

And this week’s- I’m running a bit late to catch it before Simon’s Carnival- is Death.

You get scared. Or rather maybe it’s just me but I doubt it. Death has passed close but not close enough to really reach out with its caress. Near but still far enough away you sometimes forget. Yet reminders at every turn.

So many to choose from too as Death looks over your family. Self. Husband. Parents. Grandparents. I still have both sets. Husband’s parents.  So many. It’s not always there but it hovers, whispering when you least expect it.

You wish with all your might you could keep it at bay.

Still- life plods on and you wait.

Scared.

I got a glimpse a few days ago at the wonderful relationship that’s a possibility in the future with my kids. All three of them.

We were gathered going through books for the garage sale and the discussion took a very crooked turn. Sex. Relationships. Courtship.

At one point Our Oldest asks. “Are you comfortable talking to us about this stuff?”

I was. I told them so. I answered questions, told them my viewpoint, gave them things to consider as they begin to deal with those issues.

We laughed like crazy sometimes, became serious at others.  They talked and weren’t afraid to ask me things. And in those moments- that afternoon- I could feel the mother/children bond.

Why’s that important? Because to be honest there are times I can’t feel it even though I know it’s there. There are times I doubt and fear. I’m a stepmother- and those feelings seem to be automatic.

I’m going to cling to that day, that afternoon. I want more of them. Not necessarily the topic- *laughs*- but that closeness. I love them so very much. I do. I thank God that he put them in my life and that He put me in theirs.

That afternoon was a priceless treasure I hope true Mom’s get to feel at least once in their lives.

Today is Simon’s birthday.

He’s one of the few, if the only person, who reads this blog so Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband. I have fun with you. You make me laugh and smile and we do well together. Not perfect but I still believe wholeheartedly that we’re meant for each other- no matter the route it took for us to get to each other.

I love you.

And I always will.

On the weekends I’m letting my kids be the poster. Rather.. they’ll give me what to write in hard copy and I’ll retype it here. I won’t say I won’t post anything but theirs should be there.

I’m shooting for: Fridays is Our Oldest. Saturday is Our Girl. Sunday will be Our Redhead.

Here goes for the Friday post!

Alone in a Big Room

I feel alone,
Alone in a big room.
It feels so empty yet so full.
Full of past ones.
Of dead ones.

And in this room
This vast room of death,
I feel sorrow.
Sorrow for the dead ones
For the lives taken by the Nazis.

Wall of Faces

As I stand there waiting,
Waiting for the shot,
The fatal shot that should end me
I look at the bricks,
The bricks that seem to laugh at my imprisonment.

And as if looking at them for the very first time
I noticed that each brick
      depicted a different emotion,
The emotions of dead ones
Of ones previously shot where I stood.

-Both written by Our Oldest.

Okay… go here and read Simon’s opinion of the book Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. He’s on the first book. I’m on the last in the Saga. I have a different opinion, however. Not completely different.. call it a slightly differing viewpoint.

I do see a bit of the emoness of the main character. However it gets lost in the story for me as it goes on. Perhaps it’s the intrigue of the history behind the individual vampires and werewolves, or in their physiology and psychology. She’s never my focus as I read. Intentional by the author? I doubt it.. but it’s what -I- see.

It’s not written for an adult audience. That’s obvious. Teenagers. That’s what it’s written for. Not my teen. He’s a good reader and yes.. it’s toned down in the language in a way that I don’t like.. but I can live with it if it can possibly lead to those readers moving on to books with a greater challenge or more thought provoking words.

Yet it got my attention. Maybe it’s because as a female we see the vampire and the werewolf and we want desperately to be in the main character’s place. She’s wanted by BOTH these supernatural beings. She’s entertwined with a reality that isn’t and can’t be ours. Mysterious, dangerous, joyious and yes despairing. Not every female but I’d wager most.

The males? They see people their age who become something more and exhibit things they wish they had in this life to combat that which frightens them as if younger and far smaller. The real world is at their door and this book gives them an escape into something that’s not real, where fantasy such as the heroes in comics comes alive.

It’s not comics, I know. But there are some that don’t get into them. They lean towards the darker side yes.. but we can’t just lump it as dark and emo. Some just enjoy the story, seeing the hero or villain struggle for dominion and choice as more…. entertaining?.. when it’s in this type of format. Me? I like both.

I do have one problem with it. The love it portrays is one that few if ANY people that age will find, let alone see. I would have preferred the characters to be a bit older. Dealing with college, maybe, instead of high school.

There will be teens taking some of what they read to heart and probably a few falling into that emo attitude but if they do it’s a choice and I don’t think the book is bolstering that at all. It’s the female lead that does the emo-ness. The rest act pretty correctly on who and what they’re represented as. Of course that could be because they’re not human persay- outside the box as far as fitting into particular roles.

The book isn’t great. But in my opinion they’re fun, simple and they give a taste to the younger readers what they can find in later books by other better authors. Not some huge fanclub of vampire and werewolf worshippers bemoaning life but stories of strength and courage and acceptance and determination. Humanity had and lost or held onto despite all evidence to the contrary.

I like the books. I enjoy them. I like being able to talk about my opinions with my son. In fact I’ll have him write his opinions on the book in the next few days- spurred on by questions from his Dad I think. *smiles*

As for the movie? We saw the trailer and both our oldest and I think it’s done wrong. The wrong look and the wrong actors and the smidgeon we saw wasn’t accurate to the book. It’ll be disappointing for sure.

Stick to the books and use your imagination.

I use Facebook. Every day just about. I check all my friends and post a comment if I haven’t done one recently. I even check the groups I’m a part of on a weekly basis at least. Today I made a new Facebook friend. My sister. She’s got TONS of friends and not surprisingly I know a good two thirds of them. We did after all share an apartment her first year of college and we were in the same Christian Fellowship organization.

What I was VERY happy to find, while searching through her friends list was three particular individuals that were a part of a “group” from Christian College. After I left due to money reasons I kept in contact via messengers etc.. but eventually lost track of them. We were in classes together, studied together and prayed together. I was in the same dorm building as the other girl and she even married one of the guys. *laughs*

Needless to say.. I’m smiling wide and hope to renew those friendships as soon as they answer my friends requests.

I was browsing through my blogroll and found a link to Neil Gaiman’s Journal and it has on it a video. Jon Stewart’s response to 9/11. I’m not a follower of his. I don’t really like his show at all. But I loved this video. It’s a testament to what Simon said in his post and what most of us ARE remembering. Not just on that day of rememberence… but every day.

So.. I know the day is past.. but I thought this worthy of being pointed out. Watch and feel proud to be an American and of being Human.

So I’m busy. Sorting toys and books, clothes and stuffed animals… all of it.

It’s long and tedious and I’ve been doing it for hours but we’ve made a little bit of headway. The weekends will be taken up with it and some of the weekdays I’m sure.  *sighs*

So don’t expect much from me on here this weekend. But hey.. check out Simon. He’s got plenty to read. *smiles*

I could write a lot about 9/11 but I think I’ll let Simon speak for me.

Read it and remember.

Read it and have strength.

Read it and have Faith.

Simon found something on Ebay and won three Uniducks for me! They all have a unicorn horn, hair and a tail. All rubber and pastel colored hair/horn. Just because he could, we were also sent for free a Mummy duck for Halloween. It’s cute.

I collect rubber duckies so the site of the man they come from is a dream! Our bathroom is full of plenty of them already. There’s one lonely little light up rubber frog but he’s not always lonely. He’s proud to be different amongst so many ducks. *grins*

A big thank you and a hug to my hubby. They continue to make me smile when I spot them on the windowsill.

Simon has offered a challenge every week to do 100 Words on the topic he’s chosen. I like the idea so here’s mine. He’ll post it on Friday with his Carnival of  Words!

She sits and listens for a few minutes before up she goes. Moving around is a lot less difficult with that beat, those words, those sounds spreading through the house. A small change in the surroundings yet it makes such a big difference. A bounce in the step. A voice lifted, it mattering not to the quality but only to it’s availability. The washer shakes and spins. The dryer hums. Each press of the keyboard as words are written across the screen adds its own click to the orchestra.  Add to that the chatter of family. Simple joy. Simple hope.

And there we go.

I was looking up information on that book I reviewed a few posts back and come upon someone elses review. The person liked it when I didn’t but that’s not what this little snippet’s about.

I’m excited because this is a GREAT site!

Mrs. Magoo Reads

It’s kept up to date, it’s popular with author interviews, video reviews, contests and more. I believe it focuses on Young Adult fiction.

Now… in the past, when I was writing on this in the beginning, I made it clear that my reading is an important part of my life and my family’s life. Since they were younger we’ve read aloud. Not so much anymore since they’re now 13, 11 and 10 and even coming upon birthdays! But we read them C. S. Lewis’s entire Chronicles of Narnia series aloud as well as various other books.  Personally, I’ve kept track of every book I’ve read or audio book I’ve listened to since 2001. It’s just something I do. I’m hoping they get into the habit of doing the same. *crosses fingers*

Back to reading. I require them to read 1/2 an hour on school days and an hour on non-school days. This is usually a book that falls within that *grumbles* AR system for their school. We’ve gone through the schools lists and found some for them to read. A lot of them ones I read when I was younger and it’s great to be able to discuss things with them and suggest and even look forward to future books. A good example of that is the Stephenie Meyer’s “The Twilight Saga”. Our oldest and I are both reading it and we’ve discussed it. In fact.. I just might have him right his own review when he finishes the newest book- he’s second in line for it from the Public Library.

So.. this site I’ve found reviews books that I’ve read and have heard of and plenty, looking through it, that seem to be ones I’d enjoy and my kids too. So it will be a big help and, like I said, I’m just excited.

Yay!

*smiles so very wide*

Saturday night.

The jackpot was up. $599.00 in 62 numbers. Now.. since there are only seventy-five numbers that’s a lot to win it in. We were all surprised no one had won it yet. Scrounging the money I went with my Mom. If I could I’d go every week. I love that time alone with her. Well.. we’re not completely alone. Surrounding mostly by old women and some old men with an occasional someone my age and the even rarer teenager or two.

There are some things to know about Bingo.

1. Children are annoying! Or rather.. obnoxious and noisy children are. You know the kind. They get up and down going to the concession for more and more food. The babies and youngsters up to age about two. Try getting those in a room where there’s a bit of talking but for the most part it’s concentration so you don’t miss daubering a number.  You hear a ton of grumbling. You’d be surprised how many would like to refuse admittance to those small ones. Now.. I have kids. But they’re extremely well behaved. So well behaved we continually get compliments on how polite and kind they are. People are shocked to hear a child not argue with a parent and they’re even more shocked when they say please and thank you without prompting! I’ve taken my kids with me before. A coupon to go has been a Christmas gift from my Mom to the kids every year for the last few years. My Mom seems to be a magnet. If there are little children they most assuredly sit behind or near her most of the time.

2. There are Regulars and then there are the Others. The others only come when the jackpot gets big or when the Bingo night in the next town is closed. It’s a regular thing to hear people they hope a regular wins. This past Saturday a Regular won. The man nearest me grinned and said it loud and clear that “At least it went to a ******* person”. When you go often you get to know everyone at least by sight. There are those that win every week. Yes it’s odd but it happens! I guess it’s a sense of pride. “OUR” bingo hall. Get your own! My Mom’s fond of saying that she’s put in her time and money and that anyone who’s an Other shouldn’t be coming to win money that she and the rest of the Regulars have been putting into for so long. Part of me feels she’s right.

3. Reserving Seats. It’s allowed. You’ll find that there are those who sit in the same place week after week after week. Mom and I do. We sit, I believe, in the middle of the fourth row from the left when coming in. There is a family- Mom and two daughters and sometimes more as well as another woman who’s the grandma of one of my friends- who sits on one side of us. Behind me and slightly to the left sits another certain group. If one of those “groups” gets to the hall first then it’s common practice to plop a dauber or two, trashbags and game lists down to save those spots. Now, sometimes you just don’t get there in time. Regulars don’t usually take the spots they’ve seen others claim. But Others.. they don’t care. Sometimes they don’t know. But often they do know. Beware if you take it though! That group behind me has had to sit somewhere else the last two weeks. Oh my GOSH are there bitter words over it. Once it was someone sitting there but this last week it was an instance of Reservation.  They were mad. And those saving the seats walked over with a pretty stiff and snippy attitude to inform that those seats were saved. When another of the Regulars came to join the group she sat her purse down on the reserved table. Now I’m not sure if she planned to sit there but that stiff woman came charging over, throwing things down and her attitude was of a viper wanting desperately to attack but held back only by propriety. Needless to say the Regular moved. It was the talk of the room for awhile! The funny thing? Those who were reserved for didn’t even COME!

There’s more to it. Lots more. However I think you’re well enough informed for now.

I had fun. I can’t wait till I can go again either at the end of the month or next month.